Meet the Family
by MissJayne
Summary: Meeting the family doesn't always go smoothly, as Gibbs discovered when he met Jenny's sister.  Set 'back in the day', just after Marseilles.  Jibbs, Lily!
1. Prologue

_A/N: It's been a while since I wrote a longer Lily story, but the idea started in my head during a Starbucks session with my beta in which I suddenly came up with a... suitable way for Gibbs to meet Lily. Which needed a story written around it. No knowledge is required of any of the other Lily stories, but if you have read them, hopefully some moments will make you smile._

_Rating may go up. I may need... advice first._

Meet the Family

**Prologue**

Marseille in August was hotter than hell, Jennifer Shepard had decided. And that was not even considering the heatwave. The air was humid, sticky, _suffocating_ – what she wouldn't give for air conditioning.

It had to be at least 100 degrees outside, with not a cloud in the sky and no rain for the past week. The sun beat down relentlessly, as though in battle with everything under it. The ground was parched, desperate for even a drop of water.

And somehow the attic was worse. Stale. It trapped the heat and refused to let it go. The only window did not open and even if it did, they couldn't touch it. Not without running the risk of alerting someone to their presence.

Jenny reached for her bottle of water, took a sip and forced herself to swallow it. Warm. Just like everything else. She sat at a table covered with equipment to photograph everyone boarding a Lebanese trawler. Wrong time of the day – not a soul moved in this heat.

It was only her second day in the attic, her third officially on assignment outside the United States. Part of her was thrilled at the opportunity available to her such a short time after she had joined NCIS. Another part was pissed that her sister, who had worked for the CIA for more than a few years, had not mentioned just how boring stakeouts could be.

And how ubiquitous they were.

Despite her momentary displeasure, she loved her job. Lily had accurately described the adrenalin rush of being out in the field, the gratifying feeling of wrapping a case up and the amount of caffeine needed to keep going throughout the day. The knowledge that she was making a difference in people's lives.

She hadn't intended on this job at all; she'd sort of fallen into it. Born from a desire to avenge their father and to provide the closure that she had never felt to others. Not to mention Lily's constant nagging that she needed to get out from behind a desk and _do_ something with her life.

Yet she was nervous; the initial feeling that she had chalked up to starting a new job had not left. She was confident in her abilities, but she was not confident she wouldn't screw up. She needed time to become comfortable with the level of responsibility on her shoulders.

Her boss wasn't exactly helping. Gruff, experienced, capable of scaring a lot of people. Most of the time, she was able to shrug off his attitude. It helped that he seemed impressed she had the nerve to stand up to him, and it also helped that she was able to channel into Lily's knack of not giving a damn what anyone said about her. Not openly anyway.

And why oh why did he have to be so damn… handsome. Leroy Jethro Gibbs – a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. One minute barking orders and the next bantering with her. They'd flirted subtly (and a little less subtly since Diane had left the picture), pissed each other off a couple of times to the extent she had been sorely tempted to shoot him, and somehow struck up a friendship.

A silver-haired, blue eyed fox. Older, but that had never been an issue. Stubborn, prickly and yet with a warm heart. She'd long since lost track of the number of times she'd wanted nothing better than to jump him.

And now they were stuck together in a foreign country, relying on each other for support. She couldn't decide if this was a good thing or if it would destroy them completely.

Sighing, she glanced over her shoulder to confirm he hadn't snuck back in while she'd been musing. Still nothing to do. Knowing she probably shouldn't be doing this, she reached for her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"This had better be good."

She froze for a moment at her sister's voice. Quiet. Probably somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Drawling. Not in immediate danger then and more bored than disturbed.

"I can hang up," Lily suggested.

"I'm on an unsecure line," Jenny answered, suddenly realizing this was not her best idea. Gibbs was going to kill her.

"I know where you are," Lily replied, sounding more amused now although her voice never rose. "Having problems with the _heat_?"

Jenny bit her lip, wishing she'd never mentioned Jethro within earshot of Lily while also aware she would have found out regardless. Her sister had informants everywhere and apparently NCIS was not off limits.

"Drink lots of water." Lily was definitely teasing her now. "Stay in the shade. I'd suggest not performing any _strenuous _activities but it might cool you down a bit."

"Shut up," Jenny demanded. "Do you have any Intel on…" She let her voice trail off, trying to get her message across without letting too much slip. She needed to get out of this attic and she had no qualms about going through her sister to get it.

"I'll have a look." Lily was back to sounding bored. "Just let me know if anything _exciting_ happens."

The creak of a floorboard was her only warning. Jenny hung up without bothering to say goodbye and tried to hide the phone.

"What were you _thinking_, Shepard?" Gibbs barked into her ear, having somehow traversed the attic almost silently.

It didn't take much for both their tempers to snap.

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson moved her neck from side to side to relieve tension. For too long had she been stuck in this airless attic, forced to remain as silent as possible to prevent discovery.<p>

She had arrived in Marseille, France, less than twenty four hours previously. Her assignment: to kill a man who was presently on a Lebanese trawler. A certain Lebanese trawler currently under surveillance by a lesser armed federal agency. NCIS. Who had, luckily for her, decided to set up base in the most obvious place. While she had been checking the area was clear so she could make her move, she had wandered into the house next door, all the way up to the attic where she had discovered her rivals.

The heat of the day was finally beginning to fade away, although it would still be a few more hours until Lily would not be prepared to kill for a cold shower. She pushed herself up from the floor, reaching for her cold cup of coffee and downing it while she stretched out her muscles. Despite spending the majority of the last day curled up in a corner on the off-chance one of the NCIS agents thought to check whether the attics were adjoining or not, she had made sure to exercise regularly.

Now she was glad she had. The aches and kinks disappeared rapidly and she was ready to do her job. Do her job and fly home on the next red-eye to be with her husband before sunrise. Another grin crossed her face and she forced herself to get rid of it. She had to kill a man first.

Turning back to the wall she had been leaning against for the past few hours, she cocked her head to one side and listened dispassionately. Moans, groans, an incredibly noisy mattress. Round Three by the sound of it. Oh well, the two of them did have a lot of tension to work out, assuming Jenny had been holding back while discussing her new boss.

Making a mental note to run a full background check on one Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and tease the living daylights out of her sister when they next ran into each other, Lily headed for the stairs. She had to get onto that trawler before the two agents went back to their job or she would be caught on camera.

And the sooner she could curl up in bed with her husband and forget about her job, the better.


	2. Washington DC

_A/N: I almost forgot about this update. I'm not sure if it's because I've been so busy writing or I'm out of the habit of updating on a regular basis._

_Minor spoilers ahead involving the Reynosa cartel. Only mentioned in passing._

_And I may have forgot to mention: after consultation, the rating will be going up in a few chapters._

**Washington DC**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not happy to be back in the squad room at the Navy Yard.

For one thing, he had been promised a significant assignment in Europe. Being back in DC after barely a week was never a good sign. As far as he knew, neither he nor Shepard had screwed up to the extent they needed to be brought back. As far as he knew, they hadn't screwed up at all.

She was his very junior partner, and although he had disliked the idea of being her mentor, she was bright and alert. Should turn out to be a damn fine agent, unless she mucked up somewhere. He doubted that; she had ambition. A nice sort of ambition – she wasn't going to stamp on anyone's head to get to where she wanted.

Shepard, or rather Jenny, was his other problem. The tension between them had been there for months and both of them had been well aware. It had been a little easier when he had still been married to Diane – he could pretend Jenny didn't affect him and even if she did, he couldn't do anything about it. Signing the divorce papers had changed everything.

That it had come to a head in Marseille had not surprised him, only that it had taken so long. They had to have christened every surface in their safe house. He grinned at the memory, aware he would look like a fool if anyone passed his desk but not really caring.

He hadn't been able to get enough of her. And now, to be back in the States so soon? He wasn't sure where he stood. Had it just been a need to work out the tension between them? Was it a case of what happened in Europe stayed in Europe, like a holiday romance? Or was there something deeper underneath?

They had stayed at their own places last night, both nervous about whatever Morrow had called them back for and unsure how their relationship would transfer between continents. Now they sat apart in the squad room, at their own desks, trying to act as though nothing had changed between them.

"Gibbs."

The man in question looked up to see Chris Pacci in front of him. "Hey." He stood and greeted his friend.

"Morrow called you back already?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Don't know why."

Pacci cocked his head to one side. "Maybe you'll be helping me out. I've got this sick bastard torturing and killing marines. Looks professional, but I can't figure out how they're connected."

"I'll have a look at the file," Gibbs promised, unsurprised the world hadn't changed while he had been gone.

"See you around," Pacci smiled, heading back to his own desk.

Gibbs sat down again and glanced over at Jenny. There was no way Morrow could have found out about them. Right?

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson had had better days.<p>

Especially when she picked up little snippets she probably shouldn't have heard.

The CIA had evidently decided her skills were of use in a drug trafficking investigation. For one, she didn't do investigations like this – she had no real training in them and certainly didn't know much about preserving information. And second, she felt it was a little beneath her.

At least it wasn't the sort of investigation Jenny would do with NCIS. After running around half-cocked for the last week, someone had finally read her in properly. It was now officially her job to get inside the cartel, get as much information as possible, and then get another agent inside. One who was far more suited to go undercover in a Mexican cartel, but who was currently recovering from a rather bad shootout a few months back.

By her estimate, Agent Nash would be cleared for field duty in a fortnight. Until then, she was on her own.

As drug cartels weren't really her forte, she'd had to dig into the background of the Reynosas. Sister the public face, brother working behind the scenes with the Mexican authorities so he could protect her and the business. She had to confess she liked their set-up. Fortunately it wasn't her job to bring them down.

With the leeway she had, she had given herself the task of tracing the drug links. If she could make sufficient headway into working out the trafficking routes, it would help Agent Nash when he came to relieve her. Until then, she could hone her undercover skills as Mara Davies (using her step-mother's identity was a bonus if they ever figured out she was a spy – she wouldn't mind attending _that_ funeral).

She had been snooping around, picking up everything she could from the lingo to the people involved, when she'd overheard a name. A name she had never thought would be associated with the Reynosas.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

One long evening with a minor-league drug dealer and she had learnt a few things about the ex-marine. Though she had been forced to bite her tongue when the dealer told her that Gibbs was still a marine. Didn't these people know any decent hackers who could locate him?

As best she had been able to determine, for reasons as yet unknown, the Reynosas wanted Gibbs dead. Very dead. And to that end, they had hired a hitman. With a bit of time, Lily knew she could get the name of the hitman. Though to start with, she knew the guy was an idiot – even she knew Gibbs was not a marine any more.

And had asked her favorite hacker to find out exactly what the connection between the two groups was.

At least this would end her current boredom. A little investigation on the side, brushing up on the skills Jenny was learning, would keep her occupied.

* * *

><p>Jennifer Shepard wished she had never been sent to Europe in the first place.<p>

It had utterly complicated matters. Her relationship with her boss had changed, and she did not what to do. Pretend nothing had happened? Act as though everything had changed (which it had) and the change in location made no difference? That would get her fired if she wasn't careful.

Ideally, she needed to sit down with her sister and talk this over. She already knew Lily would be completely unsympathetic to her dilemma and tell her to go after what she wanted with both hands, but Jenny wasn't sure what she wanted in the first place.

She liked Gibbs, of that she was sure. But did she love him? Love was a complicated thing; no one fell in love at the drop of a hat. And she knew barely anything about him, except he was going through divorce number two. It didn't exactly bode well.

And then there was her ambition. She wanted to go places, and a husband wasn't in her Five Point Plan. Could she give it all up to be with someone? Would she feel trapped or content?

Perhaps Lily would be more sympathetic if she started the discussion from the point of her sister's marriage. Jenny had privately never thought anyone could have the slightest control over her sister, but Brian was good for her. Their marriage was strong and happy, and they had started mentioning children. Jenny suppressed a smile; she would love to be an aunt.

Now things were starting to make sense. She would drop by and see Lily whenever she next had a clue to her movements, or maybe even simply talk with Brian.

She tried not to yawn as she sat at her desk. Jetlag sucked. She had finally learnt why they had been recalled from Europe – the agency was short of agents. She and Gibbs had been given the job of tracing a drugs supply link. While it wouldn't advance her in the same way as being assigned to Europe, it was still an important investigation.

Gibbs was busy organizing a stakeout of a dock for tonight. A contact of an agent somewhere in the building seemed to think a meeting was going to occur then, and Gibbs wanted photographs of the main players. It meant her jetlag was going to have to be put on hold while she sat in a cold car with a man she could barely keep her hands off. Slipping into the back seat was not going to be an option.

She sighed, wondering if she could go home early and catch up on sleep. She wasn't feeling too well. Maybe Gibbs would take her back to his tonight. Perhaps she should ask.


	3. Seeing is Believing

_Sorry the last chapter was a little slow. Things needed to be set up for this chapter, which should set the ball rolling nicely. Gibbs, meet Lily._

**Seeing is Believing**

Stakeout.

Jennifer Shepard was strangely upset that she was missing it. Except she knew she would be a hindrance in the field. Her head was trying to explode and she couldn't do a thing about it.

She was tucked up in an unfamiliar bed, staring at unfamiliar walls and wondering what on earth she was doing. Upon hearing of her headache, Jethro had taken her home, forced her to eat a little chicken soup (she had to admit the man could cook), and put her to bed.

Not in the spare room, but in his room. A good sign, she felt, attempting to ignore the pounding in her head. Tylenol had made no difference.

She was starting to think she'd made a bad choice. Jethro had promised to cover for her on the stakeout, arguing he'd done enough of them and they were not supposed to make contact with any of the players. He would be perfectly safe on his own and she could get some rest. Nevertheless, she still felt as though she should be there. Her gut was playing up.

It wasn't only her non-attendance at the stakeout that was bothering her. If she was ill, Lily was ill. It had always been that way for as long as she could remember. Somewhere in the world, Lily had a major headache and any Tylenol she took would not work. Being in Jethro's house bothered her because she wanted to be with her sister. It was comforting to be with someone she knew understood her pain completely because she was going through the same pain.

She missed her sister. They had always been close, but since Lily had joined the CIA, things had changed. They no longer saw each other every day. They no longer shared a room, both at home and then at college, although she had a little more privacy since Lily had moved out. They could no longer discuss everything, as some things had to be off limits.

Right now, in pain and confused, all she wanted was her sister to tell her she was either being an idiot or to cuddle her.

She closed her eyes, trying to relax. Jethro would be home soon, she hoped. He made her feel better by simply being there.

* * *

><p>Stakeout.<p>

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had been on more than a few in his years as an NCIS Special Agent, but never one where he was worried about a woman lying in his bed at home.

Jenny had looked like hell, but had still been determined to do her duty until he had pointed out she would be a liability. It was not as though he had to do much; just take a few photographs. The real work would come tomorrow when they would have to identify all the players and come up with their next step.

He suspected this would involve one or both of them going undercover, for at least a little while, so he might as well take the executive decision and give her the night off to recover while he did the Probie work.

He did not want to examine why he was cutting her a break. If it had been anyone else, he would have told them to suck it up and get in the damn car, and they would not have dared to complain once throughout the night. But when she had admitted to feeling unwell, all he had wanted to do was protect her. Ducky would have called him 'chivalrous'. Perhaps he was, for once. He hadn't been nice to his ex-wives; he wasn't sure he'd been chivalrous since…

Shannon.

He really did not want to examine this while stuck in a car on stakeout. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he had anything else he could do. He stared out the window, hoping this deal would occur soon so he could do his job and go home to Jenny.

* * *

><p>Stakeout.<p>

Lily Thompson had had more fun on stakeouts than she was having at the moment. At least it was all going smoothly. She took no small comfort from that.

It didn't help that she felt like her head was about to explode any minute. One of the advantages at not being in the office right now was that it didn't matter if she looked ill – her undercover alias could come down with any bug and she wouldn't have to drug herself up and keep fighting.

It bugged her that the Tylenol wasn't working. It wasn't even taking the edge off. And she knew that somewhere, out there, Jenny was feeling exactly the same. At least Jenny was probably curled up in bed right now with her lover and not stuck outside in the freezing cold.

She glanced around at her companions. In order to make headway into the Reynosa cartel, she needed to persuade someone to vouch for her. Miguel Santos seemed her best option on paper, and now she'd met him in person, she suspected he'd do a damn fine job. A dealer, thankfully a little higher than a street punk, but not too high he'd be overly suspicious at her presence.

Santos was not stupid enough to come to the meeting alone. Three of his friends, all rather burly and almost certainly packing heat, stood slightly back from him yet still in a defensive circle. If she tried anything, she would be bleeding on the floor in a very short space of time.

Not that she wanted to try anything _physical._

She followed him out from the relative shelter of one of the warehouses onto the dockside. It felt colder out here, the wind biting her bare skin, but she felt safer. They were less likely to kill her in the open, which meant she was succeeding.

Santos lit a cigarette and offered her one. Resisting the urge to turn up her nose, she accepted, not willing to annoy him. Yet. She took a few puffs, fighting the urge to hack up a lung in the process, before settling for holding it while it smoldered.

"You can get it for me?" she asked, sounding bored. She didn't have to fake that part.

"Forty eight hours," he agreed. "A kilo. If it is good, we can talk about doing more business."

She nodded, looking out across the dock. Her senses were tingling; there was no moon, no light – anyone could be waiting in the dark to attack her. Perhaps she had been in the field too long, perhaps she was becoming paranoid. Then again, she was reminded all too often that paranoia kept her alive.

Her head still pounding, she shook hands with Santos and slowly headed into the darkness. Time to go home and forget about her job. Brian had promised to wait up for her.

* * *

><p>Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not sure what to think. Unless his eyesight had failed, he would have sworn he had just seen Jenny on that dock, doing business with their drug dealer.<p>

What on earth was going on?

He knew he'd left her at home, knew she hadn't been well. Yet even at a distance, without the binoculars, he had known it was her. Her silhouette, her distinctive red hair. She was even wearing the coat he had last seen hanging up by his front door.

From the moment he had set eyes on her, he had known he could not do anything without blowing the stakeout. He couldn't go up to her, he couldn't call for backup because he had no backup. Jenny had just betrayed NCIS and he had been forced to watch.

Yet he knew she wasn't a traitor, knew she was proud of her country, knew she hated drug dealers from past experience. There had to be some explanation of this, an explanation he couldn't fathom at the present moment because his mind was in turmoil.

He wanted nothing more than to talk to Director Morrow. The man would know what to do. But he had left only a few hours ago for a conference in London. And something had to be done immediately if Shepard was selling them out.

Rubbing his forehead, he came to the only option available. Go home to her and watch her every move like a hawk. Make sure she didn't sneak off at night again. He could talk to Morrow when he returned in a week.

His gut clenching, he started the car and headed home.

* * *

><p><em>OK, I lied, Gibbs doesn't properly meet Lily in this chapter. But he will in the next. When the rating will go up.<em>


	4. Confrontation

**Confrontation**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs wanted to kill someone.

He wasn't particularly fussed _who_ he killed, as long as he could vent his ire on someone. Even Jenny was an option right now.

Especially Jenny.

He knew what he had seen the previous night. He would have sworn to it in court. Despite him having been at a distance and not taking any photographs, he knew his partner when he saw her. He knew her coat and scarf, knew the way she held herself, knew the way she walked. He had seen, without a shadow of a doubt in his mind, Jenny Shepard dealing with a known drug dealer.

And yet he knew something was wrong with this picture. He knew Jenny better than that – there had to be something going on he didn't know about. But what? Every time he looked at her, she was focused on her work, apparently untroubled by her task of identifying the few players he had taken photographs of. There were none of her in there, but if she had been present, surely she should be nervous. Surely she should suspect he was holding something back. Surely she had to _know_ that he knew something.

He needed to talk to her. Initially he had wished to wait until they went home. But the waiting was getting to him. He needed to _know_.

* * *

><p>Jennifer Shepard wanted to snap his neck.<p>

Gibbs had been acting oddly all morning. She was somewhat used to glancing over at him to find him already looking at her. Normally, they shared secretive little grins and went back to their work.

Today, he seemed cold. Distant. Calculating.

What did he think she'd done?

She recalled him coming home at some point last night. She vaguely remembered him placing his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, asking if she wanted any more Tylenol and finally curling up in bed with her (after pointing out _he_ wasn't going to catch anything from _her_). As she had been half-asleep at the time, she had no idea what his behavior had been like when he had returned.

Perhaps she had said something in her sleep. Perhaps he'd had a bad dream and was in a foul mood, though she hoped he would have told her if that was the case. Or perhaps her sister, while suffering the previous night, had called him while he was on stakeout, pretended to be Jenny herself and did something to piss him off.

She could only hope it didn't involve Lily. Much as she loved her sister, her relationships did not tend to last once her partner learnt of a sister. Or rather, once Lily learnt of a boyfriend and decided she didn't like him.

Right now, she wanted to wring Gibbs' neck. She accepted they were in the middle of the squad room and neither of them could start this discussion in full view and hearing of so many agents, but they could always go for coffee together and sort this out. They could go for a long lunch. They could even find a conference room if they didn't want to leave the building.

Her headache was mostly gone. She rubbed her forehead briefly and decided to go for coffee. If Gibbs came with her, they could hash this out. If he didn't, it would give her time to pull her thoughts together and get out of the oppressive atmosphere that was starting to build between their desks.

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson was in a good mood. For several reasons, one of which involved her husband being awake when she'd crawled home last night.<p>

She had already called into Langley, poked her boss until he exploded and now she was on the hunt for somewhere to hide until he calmed down. Given Jenny was supposed to be at work, she had decided to crash at her house for the day. It was warm, cozy, full of memories and had a housekeeper on standby if she wanted anything.

The sisters had passed in the lobby at NCIS. Dressed identically, as always. Jenny looked pissed, but would be out of the squad room at the coffee shop for enough time that Lily could get what she came for and then vanish.

Their birthdays were coming up, faster than Lily would have liked. Both sisters had a habit of trying to locate and figure out what their presents were before the big day. Given they both just knew exactly what they had bought each other, it was a bit of a pointless exercise, but it was amusing and traditional.

This year, Lily had come up with her best hiding place yet. Jenny's desk. It was the last place her sister would look for her own present, and if she saw it, she would simply assume Lily was storing it there for some reason that made no sense. Either way, she won.

The only problem came in retrieving the gift. She couldn't do it with Jenny around as their secret would be out in the open, but Jenny needed a valid reason to be in the Navy Yard so she couldn't swing by at three in the morning either. Hence she had chosen one of Jenny's coffee runs. It would appear natural if Jenny poked her head back in briefly, while the real Jenny would be safely out of the way and no one would mention it to her.

The elevator doors opened and Lily stepped out, trying to memorize the layout of the squad room in case she ever returned again. She suspected she would, at some point. Their lives were entwined too closely for her to never return to her sister's place of work.

She knew where she was going. A mass of silver hair was visible towards the open staircase. This was most likely the famous Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Jenny's desk would be the empty one with a single photograph of what looked like Jenny in front of the Berlin wall, but was in fact Lily. Lily had the opposite photo somewhere on her desk, possibly under the Chinese takeout from last month that was starting to contaminate the explosive device she was building on top of it.

The desk in front of her, Lily took the opportunity to glance across at her sister's boss. Unfortunately, he did not seem happy at this. Resisting the urge to kick him into next week if it would make him cheer up and then not take out this mood on her sister, she opened the desk drawer.

It wasn't in there.

Drat, Jenny had moved it.

In one swift movement, Gibbs rose from his desk and stormed in her direction. He caught her arm, not lightly but not hard either, and guided her to the elevator.

She fought with her desire to snap his arm in two. If he ever treated her sister in this manner…

The doors opened and he propelled her inside, following her and activating the metal cage. She mentally counted to three before he slammed his hand on the emergency stop and turned to face her, fury in her eyes.

"What is going on, Shepard?"

Ouch. This was perhaps the one problem that occurred when they swapped over – Lily did not always know exactly what Jenny knew. Okay, so Gibbs was pissed off with her for some reason and he expected her to have an answer…

She played for time. "What's going on? What's wrong with _you_?"

He glared at her, as though this worked for him all the time. Lily couldn't see why; she had tangled with far more dangerous people before. "Last night. I saw _you_," he pointed at her chest, "with the drug dealer."

Light bulbs turned on in her head. Sense. She reached into her bag of tricks and pulled something out. "I'm so sorry."

He didn't say anything, although she could see he was desperate to snap out something he normally did automatically. Fortunately, he held his tongue. This was good. He wanted her to be innocent. He wanted a rational explanation. That was fine by her. She would be happy to lie through her teeth.

"Director Morrow asked me to go undercover. He gave me a direct order not to tell anyone, even you. I've been wanting to tell you for days, I was worried it would mess up the stakeout. But then he left for the conference in London and I couldn't ask him to amend my instructions. I'm so sorry."

He swallowed hard. "Rule number four," he told her, after a suitable pause that told her he was trying to make sure his voice stayed steady. "Best way to keep a secret, keep it to yourself. Second best, tell one other person if you must. There is no third best."

She nodded sagely while laughing inside. She couldn't decide what was more amusing – that he had bought the line of rubbish she had fed him or that he had Rules for everything. _Numbered_ Rules.

* * *

><p>Leroy Jethro Gibbs was filled with relief. He had known there had to be some mundane explanation for her actions. She was not a traitor. How could he ever have doubted her?<p>

She stood across from him in the elevator, waiting patiently, her eyes full of innocence. How could she forgive him so readily? He had given her a task that morning which would have worried her – did he know about her undercover work or not? Could she say anything? He was a complete bastard.

He didn't deserve her. He was expecting her to fail somewhere, he was expecting her to run away from him. He was treating her like one of his later wives, not letting her in, not trusting her, staying emotionally detached. Regardless of where their new relationship took them, he needed to trust her as a partner and he had failed miserably in the last twenty four hours.

He looked over at her again, to where she continued to wait patiently and in silence. How could he ever make this up to her? Saying sorry… the words did not explain the depth of his feelings.

Actions always spoke louder than words. They were alone, the emergency stop was in place…

He took a step forward and kissed her, pushing her back against the elevator wall and letting his hands wander. She kissed back with equal passion. He ignored the need for air, starting to unbutton her shirt. She was returning the favor, her deft fingers working quicker than his. He resisted the urge to rip the shirt off her and scatter the buttons everywhere – they had to look vaguely presentable when they left here and she would kill him if he ruined her shirt.

He tore his lips from hers and started down the side of her neck, her little moans drawing him on. He moved lower and lower…

And then pulled back, suspicion all over his face.

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson smirked. Now this was going to be interesting.<p>

Even if Brian was going to be in a tiny bit of trouble whenever she returned home for leaving the lovebite on the junction between her neck and her shoulder.

Obviously Jenny didn't have a matching bite. And just as obviously, Gibbs knew that. He was staring at her as though she'd grown another head.

She continued to smirk. Jenny had failed to mention what a good kisser the man was. Lily couldn't decide whether to tease her sister for the next few months or hold back this incident as blackmail material.

The expression on Gibbs' face shifted for barely a second and Lily knew what was coming next. He slammed her into the wall of the elevator, with none of the passion he had before, pinned her in place and glared at her.

"What the _hell_ is going on, Shepard?"

Lily was busy deciding whether to help her sister and admit she was a twin, or screw her sister over and come up with another vaguely plausible explanation for the mark, when her cell phone rang. She knew who it was. Fishing it out with one hand, she answered the call.

"Why is Gibbs using his elevator as a conference room?" Jenny demanded, skipping the standard greetings.

Lily knew her sister had a pretty good idea _why_ he was using it and who was with him, but she wanted details. That was fine by her. She held out the phone to Gibbs and smiled sweetly.

"It's for you."


	5. Basement

_A/N: So I take it you liked the last chapter then... I think Gibbs needs to meet Lily again, and Jenny and Lily need some time alone._

**Basement**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

He couldn't believe it. Twins. Or _sisters_ as the other one (he hadn't even caught her name and he had been making out in an elevator with her) had insisted.

The other one had left the elevator, still smirking, and headed in the direction of the stairs. He had taken the elevator to the lobby where he had found one Jenny Shepard holding a cup of coffee. As the doors slid closed with her inside, he had spotted another redhead leaving the stairwell. They definitely had a knack for switching.

He deliberately had not told Jenny what had happened in the elevator. If she had asked, he suspected the whole sorry tale would have come out of his mouth and he would not have been able to stop himself. But she had pretended the whole incident had never occurred and she had simply left for coffee.

The occasional hint of a grin on her face as the afternoon wore on told him a different story. It meant she had most likely forgiven him for whatever scenario she had conjured up that involved him and her sister in a halted elevator. It was also a strong hint she was used to people getting the two of them confused. She had probably expected them to run into each other at some point and now she did not have to deal with the introductions.

The whole thing now made more sense. He had seen the sister on the stakeout, not Jenny. No wonder his partner had appeared clueless and innocent all morning – she was. And her sister had done her best to explain the stakeout without compromising their secret or Jenny.

As the afternoon wore on, he decided that if any day deserved to be cut to an abrupt end, this was it. An early ending, back to his house, hopefully with Jenny, where he would try to sort out this mess. Not that he thought there was much to sort out – Jenny was calmer and did not seem to be planning his imminent demise.

At 1800 sharp, he dismissed his team. They fled, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth. Jenny lingered and he walked down to his car with her. She didn't say anything as she climbed in his car. He fought the urge to smile; this was a good sign.

She followed him willingly into his house, still having not said a word. He shrugged off his coat and headed for his basement, needing the time to focus his thoughts and decide how to persuade his partner to talk again.

His basement wasn't empty.

Now he understood why Jenny hadn't said anything. She had understood they couldn't have this conversation with one of the main players absent. And he had a funny feeling she had known who was waiting in his basement.

The other sister grinned and gave him a jaunty wave. "You really need to get a color television," she told him. "I've been here all day and there's nothing to do."

He strode across the basement and grabbed her, pushing her against a rib of his precious boat and glaring at her. She did not resist in the slightest.

"Keep going," she encouraged instead, the grin not leaving her face.

"Lil," Jenny warned from across the basement.

He let her go and watched as Jenny removed her coat and hung it over the same rib where the other sister had previously hung her identical coat. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded.

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson had ditched her plans after running into Gibbs. Why go to Jenny's and wait for her sister to return, when there was a good chance her sister would spend the night with her partner? She wanted to run into him again anyway, so she decided to cut to the chase.<p>

One phone call to her informant at the Navy Yard and she had an address. Since she had the rest of the day free, excluding the phone calls she needed to make to various contacts which she could do anywhere she had enough service, she had decided to investigate the home of this Gibbs.

Snooping was always fun. She could always claim it as work, given that she might swap with Jenny again at some point in the near future and she needed to learn the basics about the man. She was aware she could simply run her version of a background check on him, but she wanted to dip her toe in the water first. Learn about him in her own way, and only then ask other people to do the rest of the work.

Her snooping had been fun. A sparse house, devoid of a woman's touch. A recent divorce then. She, whoever she was, had taken what looked like half the furniture, and he wasn't bothered as he had yet to buy any more. The whole place looked like a Spartan bachelor pad.

Several things had intrigued her. The boat in the basement, naturally. She had prodded it a few times, hunted for some electric tools to do a little bit of damage and come up short. Not only was the man insane enough to build a boat in his basement, he was apparently doing it by hand.

She had found a box under his bed. Typical hiding place – everyone assumed they were the first to think of it. Well, if it made her job easier… The box had been filled with scraps of paper with what she had decided were his Rules handwritten on them (she would never admit to quickly memorizing them in case he quizzed 'Jenny'). But it had also contained photographs of a younger Gibbs with a different redhead and a child. With not a single photograph visible around the house, she had decided he was hiding them for a reason and she would unearth it later.

All in all, a strange man. But he wasn't an axe murderer, which was always a good start in Lily's book.

The man in question glared at her in the present. She wasn't fussed. If he thought it made him look scary, that was fine by her. He had clearly never been tied to a chair with an Armenian gang convinced she was a spy and holding a red-hot poker barely an inch from her eyeball.

"How deep is your cover?" Jenny asked, clearly deciding to end the standoff before blood was spilt.

Lily shrugged. "It'll hold. I'm only doing this for a few weeks, gathering intel and opening a path for another agent to take over. I don't quite look the part for a Mexican cartel." She grinned again.

"Get us into the supply chain," Gibbs demanded.

She tutted. "And risk blowing my cover? Why should I help a lesser Agency?"

"I'll kick your ass if you don't," Jenny suggested helpfully, before Gibbs could start his macho posturing again.

"I can't change my cover now," Lily told her frankly. "So either you dye your hair and have a lot of plastic surgery, or I can't get you in. _Him_ on the other hand…"

"Tomorrow morning," Jenny informed her, her tone daring Lily to disagree or play around.

"Tomorrow morning," Lily repeated, not willing to admit she could have the cover sorted in under an hour and then they could go straight into the field. "Want to go back to mine? Something came up and Brian's working overnight. I've got a stash of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer."

Jenny looked over at her partner. "Later," she promised.

Lily moved past Gibbs to collect her coat, but turned and grinned at him once more. "Lily," she introduced herself as. She walked past Jenny, snagged her coat and made for the steps.

She paused at the top. "I like you, LJ," she teased.

And then she was gone.

* * *

><p>"Why'd you have to stay so long at his?" Lily whined.<p>

Jennifer Shepard was used to her sister monopolizing her time. Lily liked attention, Lily liked her sister, Lily was unwilling to share. Marriage had straightened her out a lot, but when Brian was away, she wanted attention of some kind.

And Lily knew exactly why she had taken so long to come over, but there was no way she planned to discuss Jethro with her snooping sister. Not tonight. If alcohol had been involved, she would have spilled. However, tonight they were sober and simply eating ice cream instead.

"Brian got promoted," Lily announced. "Did I tell you?"

Jenny nodded, aware of Lily's bragging and that Brian had been promoted years ago. Truth be told, she was proud of her. A solid marriage was not to be sniffed at.

"He's a full-blown Colonel," Lily continued, poking at her ice cream with her spoon. "I have to go to some of these snotty political events now. The men talk shop, I have to pretend I'm not making mental notes on everything they say, and instead I get lumbered with a bunch of overly-ambitious wives with fifteen kids each and not a brain cell between them. All they want to talk about is how wonderful their children are, how perfect their house is and how I 'absolutely must come to the picnic on Friday'."

Jenny snorted, knowing her sister would have to exercise all her self-control not to snap and kill them all. "You could always claim to be ill," she suggested.

"We do that often enough when I'm not in the country," Lily argued. "I have some sort of persistent illness that prevents me from attending all these fancy parties and visiting houses. I don't think anyone's ever visited our house and I certainly haven't hosted anything."

"What do they think you have?"

Lily shrugged. "I can't remember. Poor Brian, always making excuses for me. That's going to change."

Jenny was intrigued. "Why?"

"I didn't tell you?"

Jenny simply raised her eyebrows.

"We're trying for a baby," Lily admitted.

Jenny grinned and hugged her sister.

"Lay off," Lily grumbled, but Jenny could hear her happiness.

"The CIA won't like you being pregnant," Jenny noted.

"I'm going to work through the pregnancy," Lily informed her.

"And then hire a nanny?"

"Why would I pay someone for the privilege of raising my own child?" Lily shook her head. "I'm going to retire. Be a stay at home mom. Support Brian more."

"The American dream," Jenny smiled.

"Two point four kids, white picket fence and a dog," Lily laughed.

Jenny looked at her sister and saw her in a new light. Perhaps she was finally growing up and taking responsibility. This wasn't the sister she knew.

"I know it's different," Lily confessed. "But I've got different priorities now and I want some stability in my life."

Jenny smiled, understanding. "I'd settle for getting a handle on my job," she admitted.

"But you also want to advance," Lily added, turning to her and trying to steal some ice cream.

Jenny moved the carton out of her reach. "Maybe."

"All the way to the top," Lily teased.

"No one would ever pick me to be Director," Jenny laughed. "They'd pick you first."


	6. Dealings

**Dealings**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs suspected his partner for the night was pure evil.

No one would give his undercover persona the name of 'Cletus Maguire' if they didn't have a few screws loose. She had told him, wearing the same grin he now thought she wore permanently, to act as 'redneck' as he could. He had wanted to punch her, but all the documents were made up now and he couldn't exactly demand to have them all changed over a simple name.

She was smart, he'd give her that. And cunning. And completely unpredictable. Upon arrival at his house to finalize arrangements and head out to conduct the deal, she had taken control, insisting he lose his gun and knife (he wasn't sure _how_ she knew about the knife). After reminding him that this was her op and she was running the show, she had ordered him to keep his mouth shut as much as possible, speak only if spoken to, and to watch her back. They both wanted different forms of intel and it was her job to try to ensure the best outcome for them both.

Right now, his best outcome involved walking away in one piece. He did not like inter-agency assistance; it only led to trouble. The problem was that she already had one foot through the door and he (plus NCIS) couldn't afford to jeopardize her op.

If they did, he had a funny feeling she would blame only one person for the whole mess, regardless of what Jenny did to try to persuade her sister to back off.

They approached the warehouse in silence. Jenny was hiding in the backseat of the car they had used, out of sight but able to back them up if something went wrong and shots were fired. He knew they would most likely be dead if that happened, but despite his orders, Jenny had insisted on coming along. He liked her attitude.

Lily had buried her hands in her coat pockets and did not want to talk. Beforehand, she had warned him that his entire appearance screamed 'cop' and she was not happy at him being anywhere near her during this deal.

The warehouse was just as cold as the night outside, if that were possible. He picked out the drug dealer and his three goons with ease – idiots should have known better than to turn lights on in a supposedly abandoned warehouse at night. And it made them perfect targets as well.

"Santos," Lily greeted the dealer. "This is Cletus."

Santos turned a bored eye over to Gibbs, looked him up and down and then turned back to Lily.

"What did you bring him for?"

"Ex-marine," she informed him, missing out the part about now being a federal agent. "I don't like your goons over there so I bought one of my own."

Gibbs had to admit he didn't like the goons either. Definitely armed, but seemed more of the 'spray bullets everywhere and hope something hit the target' type. Outnumbered, he didn't like their chances if this went wrong.

Santos gave him one more look and shrugged. "A kilo?" he checked.

Lily nodded. "If it's good, you can get me some more." She sounded bored.

He handed over the parcel, and watched as Lily gave it a mental weighing in her hands. She could double-check it later and come back to raise hell if necessary.

"Ex-marine?" Santos asked him.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to say. Lily had warned him his cover was flimsy, but he would be able to see the people he was interested in up close. If he sat down with a sketch artist after this, they should get some good results.

"Yeah," he admitted, aware Lily had told him her could speak if he was spoken to.

"You know a Leroy Gibbs?"

He flinched.

* * *

><p>Lily Thompson mentally winced. What on earth was he thinking? Either of them? She knew the hitman couldn't locate him, but she didn't think he would have resorted to asking the local dealers to make inquires. It smacked of stupidity – most of the dealers were users themselves and would say anything if it got them a few dollars.<p>

And LJ? Why did he have to flinch? His cover was safe – it was a lot safer than she had told him. Now he had aroused suspicions and he believed his cover was blown. She did not want a shoot-out. Santos had to live to secure her cover and later that of Agent Nash. She thought LJ was supposed to be experienced and here he was making probie mistakes. Was he trying to get them both killed?

Maybe he was one of those agents who were politically connected – maybe that was how she had ended up with an idiot. But she doubted it instantly; the man was good, she knew that. Jenny had raved about how amazing he was at his job and how high his solve rate was. The guy had known which questions to ask when she had briefed him, so he had experience.

She wanted to wring both their necks, but it would blow her cover and the three stooges would attempt to kill her. Sometimes it was worth the risk. Today, with Jenny in the backseat of a car not two hundred feet away, it was too dangerous.

She could have kicked herself; she should have thought of this and factored it in. Then again, it gave her a small advantage. She knew more about what was going on than the two of them put together. She could play this.

"I know him." She wasn't lying. Yet.

"You do?" Santos stopped staring at LJ and turned back to her.

"Yeah, didn't he blow his brains out because he couldn't handle losing his family?"

A quick glance at LJ told her she had hit home well. He certainly wouldn't contradict her, and with luck Santos would assume his reactions were due to his pain at a fallen comrade.

Santos nodded, apparently satisfied. "Enjoy." He nodded again, this time towards the package in her hands.

She nodded back and let LJ follow her back to the car in silence. She drove to the end of the docks, only glancing in the rear mirror to confirm Jenny was okay.

"Why'd you do that?"

She knew he would ask, and she knew he wasn't prepared to admit in front of Jenny that she'd just saved his ass. She considered it for a moment. Why had she spared him? It wasn't because of her job; she would have happily fed him to the sharks with a bogus story about her bringing the real Leroy Gibbs to them as he was now in Witness Protection or something. She wasn't sure it was because of anything Jenny would do or say to her if she hadn't jumped in.

She simply shrugged, pulling the car over to the side of the road and getting out. "See you around," she told the pair of them, before walking off into the night.

* * *

><p>A new day. A new start.<p>

Jennifer Shepard was very short on sleep. Partly for a good reason – Jethro had been very anxious to make up to her last night for whatever had happened between him and Lily. She had yet to decide when to tell him she wasn't really fussed; he hadn't known it wasn't her and Lily would have kicked his ass if it had been necessary (and probably done it anyway simply to cheer herself up). And partly because the op last night had kept everyone involved up late.

Lily had called to confirm she had made it back to her house in one piece. The usual comfortable silence was back in place between them. Jenny hoped to see her sister at least once more before she found herself back in Europe.

"Shepard."

There was only one person who barked her name like that. She followed Gibbs with her eyes as he continued down the stairs, wondering what he had to tell her now. They had handed over all the information they had gathered, along with a small selection of the information Lily had on Santos. As far as she could tell, their current job was done.

Gibbs continued to his desk, not bothering to stop in front of hers to give her the information. If the squad room had been empty, he would have treated her like an equal. But she understood his need to keep their new relationship from everyone. Neither of them wanted a new partner.

"Start packing," he ordered her. "We leave for Positano tonight."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sorry about the delay in updating - fredesrojo forgot to remind me to post. The epilogue should go up tomorrow._


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Jennifer Shepard stared at the envelope in her hands. It had not been addressed to anyone, simply slipped under their door at some point in the night.

She had yet to adjust to being back in Europe. It smelt different, the drivers were all maniacs (or just plain suicidal – she had not decided yet), the food was odd in a nice way and the people were friendly. But an unmarked, sealed envelope pushed under their door?

They had not had the time to contact informants or make new contacts. As far as they were aware, they were the only agents in the area. So what was in the envelope?

Aware Gibbs would not be happy if he could see her, she smirked at her own defense. If he wanted to lie in bed and send her downstairs to make him coffee…

She opened the envelope and read the newspaper cutting in her hand.

_Washington Post, Friday 4 September 1998_

_A body pulled out of the Anacostia two nights ago has been identified as a suspected hitman for the Reynosa cartel. His name has yet to be released to the media._

_The FBI have confirmed that the man was Caucasian and between thirty and thirty five years of age. Cause of death is believed to be a gunshot wound to the head; an autopsy is due to be performed this morning. The river is being dragged for the weapon. No other details are being released at this time._

_The Reynosa cartel is believed to be run by Paloma Reynosa, out of Mexico. The cartel does business in both Mexico and the United States. It is currently under investigation by the Mexican Justice Department._

_Anyone with information is asked to contact Special Agent Tobias Fornell._

The cutting made no sense. Why would anyone hand-deliver it to them? Unless someone thought they were following Tobias' career. But surely the sender had to purchase the newspaper from back home? Why would they send it so far simply to let them know what Fornell was doing?

She shrugged, staring at it for a few more seconds.

"Jen?"

She turned round to find Jethro had evidently decided to investigate his lack of coffee. Resisting the urge to tell him how adorable he looked in only his boxers, she handed the cutting and the envelope to him.

"Found this under the door," she informed him.

He didn't reproach her for opening it. She watched as he read it, catching a glimpse on understanding on his face before he controlled himself.

"Coffee?" he questioned, tucking the cutting back in the envelope and placing it to one side.

Understanding the topic closed for now, she turned around and began hunting for mugs. He switched on the machine and they worked in a comfortable silence.

She wasn't worried that he wouldn't open up. He'd tell her when he was ready.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I hope you enjoyed the ride. I'm trying to plan two more prequels, but my life is about to dissolve into complete chaos so I don't know when I'll have them straightened out, much less written. Does anyone want prequels, or shall I put them on the back-burner?_


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